Erin's interest in garbology.
My name is
Erin Antovich. I am a junior working toward a bachelor’s degree in medical
anthropology and global health with a minor in geography. My interest in
compost, garbage, recycling and the like began in high school, where I was a
member and officer of my school’s Earth Service Corps. The club began a
composting system at our high school as well as helped to improve our school’s
recycling system. Additionally, during my sophomore year of college, I became
my sorority’s “Go-Green” chair for the 2011-2012 school year. With that
position, I sought to reduce our chapter’s energy use and waste, and helped
implement a composting system. So, when I heard about the Garbology Project at
UW, naturally I was intrigued. I am excited to participate in the Garbology
Project as I find this research a very valuable way to assess the university’s
waste and to help understand ways in which this waste can be reduced. In
working with the UWGP, I hope to learn more about where improvements to UW’s
waste management can be made, and by participating in this research help to
create a greener space on our campus.
Trash sorting first impressions.
It has been an interesting two weeks peeking into the life that is Denny Hall’s waste, from slides of naked, pregnant women to decomposing bananas and paper towels. It is vexing to see exactly how much compostable and recyclable material is being thrown in the trash at our school. While I have definitely been a perpetrator of an occasional, “when in doubt, throw it in the trash” mentality, it is frustrating to know that so much compostable and recyclable material is being hauled off to the landfill (not to mention the amount of money that is wasted in doing so). Also, I had never really contemplated much about how many paper towels are thrown away each day, and how those towels could be composted rather than thrown away. As paper towels have seemingly made up at least 1/3 if not more of the garbage we have sorted through in the last two weeks, it would be great to see a composting system introduced into bathrooms on UW’s campus.
Visiting the Burke Museum's "Plastics Unwrapped" exhibit.
The “Plastics” exhibit at the Burke was very thought provoking. One thing I found surprising was the disposal of e-waste and the way that it is exported to developing countries to be recycled. Before visiting this exhibit, I had never really thought about where electronic waste goes. Seeing the ways in which individuals from the Global South have to expose themselves and their environment to harmful chemicals to take apart and recycle electronics was definitely eye opening and upsetting. I was also surprised by the garbage that is found in many seabirds’ stomachs. I’ve always been told to cut the plastic rings around six-pack cans, but had never thought much about how much trash ends up in the ocean and the ways in which that trash in turn affects the ecosystems around us. As I am a visual learner, simply being given physical examples of the vast amounts of plastic that is wasted was very interesting to me, and made the facts stick with me much more.
After visiting the “Plastics” exhibit, I left with the feeling similar to that of when I watched the movie Wall-E, a bit overwhelmed and upset with the state of things. While I was impressed with innovative uses of plastics that have arisen over the years, it was, of course, frustrating to see how much plastic we use unnecessarily, as well as how much plastic gets wasted. In terms of Denny Hall’s waste, my view was not vastly shifted. However, visiting this exhibit did further my frustration with the misplacing of recyclable items being put in the trash. Now, perhaps, I’ll be keeping my eye out more for what kind of plastic items are being trashed.
After visiting the “Plastics” exhibit, I left with the feeling similar to that of when I watched the movie Wall-E, a bit overwhelmed and upset with the state of things. While I was impressed with innovative uses of plastics that have arisen over the years, it was, of course, frustrating to see how much plastic we use unnecessarily, as well as how much plastic gets wasted. In terms of Denny Hall’s waste, my view was not vastly shifted. However, visiting this exhibit did further my frustration with the misplacing of recyclable items being put in the trash. Now, perhaps, I’ll be keeping my eye out more for what kind of plastic items are being trashed.
Keeping a trash log.
Tracking all of the things I discarded for a week was an insightful venture. I would say approximately 50% of what I discarded was compostable, about 35% was recyclable, and about 15% was full on garbage. I feel that my own waste was somewhat similar to that of what we've seen with Denny Hall's waste. One thing I noticed in the pattern of what I discard is that the majority of what I throw away, compost, or recycle is discarded around mealtimes. By and large, packaging for food items made up the majority of the items I discarded, followed by food waste and paper towels. I would say the most 'wasteful' consumption habit I have is simply cooking and eating. This is my most 'wasteful' habit as it is where the vast majority of my waste comes from. This exercise definitely made me think more deeply about how food packaging and containers plays a large role in our daily waste.
The biggest waste problem on campus.
I think the biggest waste-related challenge UW currently faces is a lack of understanding that many students and faculty have in terms of what items are compostable, recyclable, and trash despite the many signs that are posted. I feel that students many times do not take the time to think about what item goes where and out of a lack of care, understanding, or time, throw it all in the trash. This leads many recyclable and compostable items to be thrown in the trash when they could easily be discarded in a more sustainable way. The lack of clear, large signs with visual representations of which items go where on many bins may contribute to this fact. I feel it would also be beneficial to make sure there is compost and recycling bin next to every garbage can. While I was walking around campus to take photos for this blog post, I noticed that many bins outside have a large area for trash, a significantly smaller area for recycling, and ultimately no space for compost. When I looked in each of these trash bins I noticed a majority of compostable and recyclable items were just thrown in the trash.
Here, one can see the vast number of compostable and recyclable items that are being thrown in the garbage by UW students and faculty resulting from a lack of understanding and care.
These outdoor bins have very little space for recycling not to mention no space for compostable items.
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The lack of room for recyclable and compostable items allowed with the garbage/recycling bin pictured above leads many recyclable and compostable items to be thrown in the trash.
A lack of images and text that clearly describe what kinds of items should be placed in the recycle, garbage, and compost may confuse people and lead them to throw it all in the garbage due to an insufficient understanding of what goes where.
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Three benefits of doing garbology.
1. Discarding waste has become such a naturalized part of every individual’s daily lives that I feel we rarely stop and really think about our own waste habits or the impact our waste has on the environment. Physically going piece by piece through Denny Hall’s trash this quarter had made me much more self aware and reflective of my personal waste habits as well as that of UW students and faculty.
2. Another obvious benefit of the UW Garbology Project is both the environmental and monetary impact the project has. Through the UW Garbology project we are able to gain a better understanding of the waste habits of our students and faculty, and with this information are able to take steps toward improving our waste management system. Already, a composting system for the bathrooms is being introduced, which has greatly reduced the amount of paper towels being thrown away, an item that previously made up a large amount of Denny Hall’s trash.
3. Through working with the UWGP I feel I have also been able to better understand the kind of impact that taking the short amount of time to properly dispose of an item can have, whether environmentally or fiscally. It is unreal to think about how much smaller our waste footprint could be if everyone were better informed about and took the time to care about how they discard various items. In working with UWGP I feel we are helping bring our campus one step closer to that ideal situation.
2. Another obvious benefit of the UW Garbology Project is both the environmental and monetary impact the project has. Through the UW Garbology project we are able to gain a better understanding of the waste habits of our students and faculty, and with this information are able to take steps toward improving our waste management system. Already, a composting system for the bathrooms is being introduced, which has greatly reduced the amount of paper towels being thrown away, an item that previously made up a large amount of Denny Hall’s trash.
3. Through working with the UWGP I feel I have also been able to better understand the kind of impact that taking the short amount of time to properly dispose of an item can have, whether environmentally or fiscally. It is unreal to think about how much smaller our waste footprint could be if everyone were better informed about and took the time to care about how they discard various items. In working with UWGP I feel we are helping bring our campus one step closer to that ideal situation.
How has working with UWGP changed you?
As stated in my previous blog posts, through participating with UWGP and writing these blog posts, I have definitely become more aware and reflective about waste in general, and my peers' and my personal waste habits more specifically. Working with UWGP has also made me more curious and passionate about ways in which the amount of waste at UW can be reduced. It is interesting to think about the ways our campus's waste management system has changed over the past decade or so and how those changes have impacted the amount of waste diverted. I can only assume that our campus's waste management system will continue to improve and become more efficient in the years to come. Working with UWGP has made me both hopeful and concerned about UW's waste. I have become more concerned seeing the amount of compostable and recyclable items are carelessly thrown in the trash. However, I now also feel hopeful about the future of UW's waste when thinking about how small changes in the way information about waste is presented to individuals and how small changes to altering our waste management system itself can vastly change the outcomes of what gets thrown in a landfill.
How to improve UWGP.
I would say that the UWGP runs pretty smoothly. However, I might say for another quarter it might be beneficial to either expand or shift sorting trash from Denny Hall to another spot on campus. This change would allow UWGP to analyze whether waste patterns are similar throughout campus or if different areas and different kinds of recycling, garbage, and compost bins have better or worse outcomes on the campus's waste footprint.
